whitaker



(No ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. W WHITAKER.

GLOVE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Pdtented Aug. 31, 1886.

In verztzzr:

Witnesses:

N. PETERS. Phowum n hu, Wuhingmn. D. I;

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. W. WHITAKER.

GLOVE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

In ventov age? Patented Aug IZ'QJO, z

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Hanna States Arena twice.

\VILLIAM W. WHITAKER, OF GLOVERSVILLE, NE\V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES MOKEE, OF SAME PLACE.

GLOVE ANDiVlETHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

:tPzczrzcnrrzom forming part. of Letters Patent No. 348,439, dated Aug 3 1886- Serial No.188,58fl. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1', WILLIAM XV. \Vnrrm KER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gloversville, in the county of Fulton and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gloves and Mittens, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the aceompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view of ablank of leather or other suitable material for forming the or terior of the back and the palm of the hand portion of the glove. Fig. 2 is a plan of the blank ofsirnilar material for the thumb. Fig. 3 is a view from theinside of the thumb-blank after the fabric or other material which covers the back of the thumb has been secured thereto. Fig. i isaviewof the back ofthe finished glove. Fig. 5 is a view of the same, taken from the palm side. Fig. 6 is a section on the line as :v of Fig. Fig. '7 is a plan view of the devices holding the wrist-piece while it is being attached to the part shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 8 illustrates the method of forming the wrist pieces in a continuous web or sheet. Fig. 9 is a view of the holder in Fig. 7, detached. Fig. 10 is a cross-section of that in Fig. 9. Figs. 11 and 12 are sectional views further illustrating the invention.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of manufacturing the gloves and mittens, which are each formed of several pieces of material, one or more for the wrist portion and one or more for the back and palm port-ion.

It relates also to devices for-facilitating such manufacture, and to gloves or mittens having features such as will be fully understood from the description given hereinbelow.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a blank intended to provide the exterior of the back and thepalm portion of a glove. This for most purposes is preferably made of leather, but any suitable material may be employed in a similar manner. By referring to said figure it will be seen that those edges which are adjacent to the wrist portion can be made very ornamental, said edges being much broken or curved, and by means of my improvements the blank can be very readily secured to the wrist part, notwithstanding the faet that the edge has such shape, as will more fully hereinafter appear. The back part of the blank is represented by A and the palm part by A. At A the edge is indented, forming a passage for the thumb.

In Figs. 2 and 3 l have shown myimproved thumb-piece, which also I prefer under most circumstances to make of some species ofleather, and which is so shaped and attached to the blank and to the wrist portion of the glove or mitten as to attain several desirable ends not attained with articles of this class as heretofore made. It will be seen that the blank is formed with a central aperture, 7', the side parts being represented by Z), and that at the inner end of the thumb the blank extends continuously around the aperture I), as at b"that is to say, the blank is integral throughout, as shown in Fig. 2. Vhen leather is employed for these blanks, that portion of the skin is used in the manufacture which is the firmest and strongest; hence, when it becomes wet in use it subsequently stii'fens and contracts, and much trouble and inconvenience are experienced as a result. This is obviated by forming the tlntmb-blanks in the manner shown-that is to say, by removing that part which is to lie upon the back of the thumb, and there applying a fabric, knitted or otherwise formed, the material which forms the thumb-blank passing continuously around the aperture I), in eontradistinction to those gloves heretofore made, in which the back and palm portion (corresponding to thoselettered A and A in Fig. 1) have been so out as to have a tongue or strip running from the back to the palm around the inner end of the thumb. By having the strip I)", I insure that the form and shape of the glove shall be permanently preserved, and at the same time avoid the stiit'ness and inconvenience which have been experienced with gloves heretofore in use.

In Fig. 3 there is shown the manner of applying and securing the fabric which closes the aperture 7) in the thumbblank,said fabric being represented by O, and being secured by stitches of any suitable number of rows, as at c. In Figs. 3 and 6 this fabric 0 is shown as separate from the wrist portion. In Fig. 11 it is shown as being made integrally with the wrist part. This may be either a knitted fabric or woven or felted, or it may be made of the thumb-blank, as in Fig. 3, the edges of the 1 rubber; or when a very stiff or hard species of leather is used for the thumb-blank b b, this aperture may be closed by a piece of lighter and more flexible leather-as buckskin or its equivalent. After the fabric 0 is secured to blank are brought together and stitched, and the thumb is stitched to the parts A A, the mouth or inner end of the thumb being applied to the aforesaid indentation A at the inner end of the said blank A A, and is stitched thereto, so as to occupy the position indicated in Fig. 5. The wrist portion is generally indicated by D. This, too, may be of any of the numerous materials above mentioned, or any other adapted to attain the ends at which I aim. At present I prefer, generally, to employ a knitted fabric initially produced as a flat web, though a tubular one may be employed and still attain some of the purposes of my invention. The web for each wrist may at the inner end be formed with a selvage edge, or these wrists may be produced by knitting continuously a strip or web, as is indicated in Fig. 8, and cutting therefrom.

lengths sufficient for the wrists, and the cut edges may be treated in any preferred way. They maybe turned under and stitched, as shown in Fig. 12.

Heretofore in the manufacture of gloves and mittens of this class the operation of attaching the leather palm or back both to a separate wrist portion has been tedions and difficult, owing to the fact that it has been hard to manipulate the various pieces of material in such way as to rapidly and neatly pass them through the sewing-machine to effect the stitching indicated at e, Figs. 4 and 5. To overcome these difficulties I have devised a holder or frame. whereby the fabric D can be firmly held and stretched, if necessary, during the operation of stitching said fabric to the parts A or A, or both. This frame or holder may be modified-that is, made in several ways-and therefore I do not wish to be limited to exactly the form shown, although at present I prefer one having substantially that character. It is formed with two arms or bars, F, adapted to be connected with the side edges of the wrist part B, either by being passed one or more times through the fabric at those points or otherwise. These arms or bars in the construction shown are in the nature of prongsthat is, they are pointedand are of comparatively small diameter, so that they can be readily passed through the fabric, as aforesaid. At their rear ends they are joined by a crosspiece, F. Preferably the parts F and F are made of one piece of wire bent and pointed, as shown. In order to strengthen the frame and prevent these arms or prongs F from being drawn together,l employ a movable brace, F having eyes f, adapted to receive the afore said arms or prongs F. The method of applying this frame or holder to the fabric D is illustrated in Fig. 7. After the fabric D has been properly placed thereon, the blank A A is laid upon it and the parts are then stitched together in a machine. By employing this method of holding the wrist fabric I so lessen the tcdiousness of manipulation that I can cut the edges of the blank A A into more or less intricate ornamental shapes, and yet not add seriously to the labor or trouble of stitching. I have shown one of the many ornamental designs which can be used and the edges of which can be readily followed by the needle when the parts are being sewed together. After the sewing last described has been effected, the glove can be finished by bringing together the edges a a at the side of the little finger of the hand, and, if desired, a lining material of any of the usual sorts can be combined with the parts above described.

In Fig. 12 the glove is shown as having a lining, G, to which is secured the turned-in edge of the wrist-piece D. v

I have above and in the claims below referred to the part 0 as a fabric, but do not wish to be limited to any particular material,

as any of several-such as felt, leather, 8tc.-

can be used,if capable of attaining the ends at which I aim.

I am aware of the apparatus shown in English Patent No. 4,232 of 1880, consisting of a holder upon which is wound fringe prepara tory to sewing it to neckties or other similar articles, and hence I do not claim anything shown in said English patent; but the fringeholder therein shown could not be operated, nor was it intended to be operated, in the same manner' as the holder or frame for holding the wrist-blank, because the legs or arms of the holder are so large or wide that they could not be passed through the wrist portion,which is necessary for the most effective working of my holder.

WVhat I claim is 1. The herein-described improvement in the art of manufacturing gloves or mittens, it consisting in forming a wrist portion separate from the back or palm of the hand, then securing said wrist portion on a frame or holder, and then while so secured applying the blank for the palm or the back, or both, and subjecting them .to the actionof a stitching or sewing machine, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described improvement in the art of manufacturing gloves or mittens, it consisting in forming a blank, A A, with the open recess A for a thumb-passage, and forming a separate thumb-blank having the parts I) b integral with the aperture 7), then applying a fabric, 0, to close said aperture and subsequently stitching the said thumb-piece to the blank A A, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-deseribed improvement in the art of manufacturing gloves or mittens, it consisting in first forming a blank, A A, with an open recess or indentation, A", and forming a blank, I) b for a thumb with the aperture 1), then applying to said thumb-blank a fabric, 0, then stitching the last said blank to the blank A A, and subsequently securing the blank A A to a fabric for the wrist, substantially as set forth.

4. In a device for holding a wrist-pieee while sewing it to a back or palm piece of a glove or mitten, the combinatiomwith a crossconnecting piece, F, and the laterally-proj ecting arms F, carried thereby and adapted to be passed through the wrist-piece, of the movable brace F having eyes f, adapted to engage with said arms F, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described improvement in the art of making gloves or mittens, it consisting in forming a blank or blanks for the hand or palm portion, secondly, weaving in a continuous flat web a series of wrist-blanks, then 

